The Morenians
by Onira
Summary: Every culture has an Atlantis. Wizardry had the Morenians. No wizard folk believed in them any more than we believe in our own Atlantis. Now the sole child of their legacy is at Hogwarts, unaware of just how much she would learn this year.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** All materials native to Ms. Rowling's books belong to her, all others belong to me. Please don't sue. I'm in japan and overseas stuff gets complicated. ;

**The Morenians**

By Kira Jackson

**Chapter One**

Diagonalley

Living on Diagonalley had its advantages. You can getcheap living above some shops, and you know where every thing is when school shopping comes around. Autumn Trader wandered out of the bookshop, her arms laden with books she had received in exchange for handling the Monster Book of Monsters supply, a copy of which she also required.

The girl was entering her 3rd year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry, in the house of Ravenclaw. Her situation was an odd one. Her parents were dead, and had been so since before she could remember, along with any relatives she might have had. The Ministry of magic had been keeping her at foster family after foster family. Ordinarily they would place her in one and leave it at that. But hers was a special situation. She failed some sort of contamination test when she was younger and now the Ministry was forbidden to keep her with a single family for more than 4 months. No one would give her a straight answer when she asked about the test though, usually pretending they hadn't heard and commenting on the weather or some other ubsurd topic.

Currently, Autumn was living with a family that ran a specialty bookshop on Diagonalley, Todder's Magical Guidebooks and Encyclopedias. She worked for them during the summer in exchange for staying there. Whenever she did extra work she was rewarded with a book of her choosing. Her little room in the attic was nearly stuffed full with books on magical creatures, maps and spells.

For the past few months, Autumn had been working at Ollivanders, fetching wands for the ancient man that ran the place. Every summer she worked at various shops in Diagonalley for money for her school supplies, usually reaping extra due to the before-school rush. In fact, that was how she had gotten her want. She had worked for Ollivander for five months straight during the year before she started school, earning her way to her wand. It was a lovely thing, fashioned of ebony and centered with a dragon heartstring. It was the perfect blend for more powerful spells, but still able to exercise delicacy.

Autumn struggled to balance all the books she had purchased that day as she walked the short distance across the bookstore front to the little door at the side, which lead up to the actual living area.

Her room, oddly enough, was the area above the ceiling and below the roof. The family had run off the ghoul that had lived there so she could stay. Depositing the new books on her bed, Autumn kneeled to pull her trunk from the clutches of the dust bunnies beneath her bed. Plucking the rabbit-like fluff balls from the trunk, much to their squeaking displeasure, she worked the latches open. After a few moments of struggling, she gave the rusty latches a good shot with her fist and tried again, this time the locks opening without difficulty. 'Just gotta bully it a little.' She thought with a smile.

Autumn settled her new books in a lower corner. She grabbed a few books from her shelves, sorting through which ones she wanted to take. "Magical Creatures and Their Ways," "Fliers of the Magical World," "Myths, Not Quite So," "The Spell Book Mummy Told You Not To Read" and various others all went in her trunk. Autumn got up and went over to the far corner of her room. She pushed aside one of the taller shelves of books, wincing slightly as it toppled over. Sighing, she went about her previous task, retrieving her cauldron from behind the book stacks. She moved a few more books aside, these somewhat less noisily, and finally procured her cauldron from the recesses of the book-fortress. Not much bigger than a large cooking pot and fashioned of plain, undecorated pewter, the thing wasn't much to look at.

Setting it down by her trunk, Autumn noticed that it was filled with bits of what looked like her sheets. 'And I thought the last family had mice.' She thought and rooted gently through the fluff. Her surprise reached it's maximum when she found a starved black and blue kitten, mewling in protest at its relocation. Pulling her hands back into her sleeves, Autumn picked up the kitten with her makeshift gloves the fabric of her sweater cushioning the kitten's weak little body. She crooned softly, cradling it against her chest.

"Hush kit. You're all right. You're okay, little Nightmare." Autumn said, naming the kitten on impulse. She sat down on her bad and examined the little thing. It looked as though the poor baby hadn't eaten in a week or two. Its ribs showed through its fur. She carefully set the little thing down on her pillow, laying it on its back. Deducing that her new charge was male, she grabbed a ruined old book bag, filling it with a few handkerchiefs and some pigeon feathers. As soon as the kitten was settled, Autumn turned to her little library, searching for Nightmare's species.

After a few minutes of searching, she came up with one of her first books, "The Other Side of Cats, A Magical Feline Encyclopedia." Flipping through its pages she landed on a topic that looked promising. Black Cats Worthy of Superstition. She scanned down the description listing. Black and red, black with red eyes, there! Black and blue.

"The Kudun, among the rarer breed of magical cats, is not unlike the average domestic cat at first glance. Upon closer examination, one would find that their coats, while appearing to be black, are laced with dark blue, being most prominent around the eyes. The eyes themselves are considered their most beautiful features. Usually, they are red, laced with silver and black. Other colors may include green, purple and gold. On very rare occasions, the eyes are blue. Details are sketchy, but it is said that only one of these blue eyed Kudun are born every decade. Kudun live to be approximately fifty years of age, but are known to outlive their owners at times, and mature at three years. In some wizarding communities, a Kudun living in or near one's house is a sign of good luck. Little is known about the magical properties and abilities of the Kudun. However, it is rumored that they possess the telepathic capabilities and are able to perform magic. By some, they are even considered sentient."

Storing that information for a later date, Autumn scanned for that the Kudun eat, finding their diet to be the same as an ordinary cat. Gathering Nightmare in her arms, Autumn went down the ladder and into the kitchen.

"Mrs. Todder?" She said, finding the woman scouring a pan at the sink. "I found this little guy sleeping in my cauldron. Is there any chance I can keep him?" She asked, giving the matronic woman her best puppy face. "I'm leaving tomorrow so he'd only bother you for a little while. And he'll get rid of mice once he's bigger.

"Oh hush you! You needn't have souped it up that much. Of course you can keep him." The woman took a moment to examine the little kitten. "Well, let's get this little fellow some milk. He looks starved Even better, I'll ad some butter to it."  
"Do cats like butter?"

Apparently this one did. Nightmare drank the entire bottle that had been given him. The little mite cage a rather large yawn and promptly fell asleep in Autumn's arms.

"Oh dear, the poor thing's exhausted. You take him upstairs and I'll make him some more of that mixture for your trip." Mrs. Todder said, shooing her back upstairs.

Autumn settled Nightmare back into his little nest, going back to her packing.

Not too long after, she discovered she needed new quills, robes and several other items of necessity. Tossing the "The Other Side Of Cats" into her case, she dumped her cauldron out behind the stack of books she got it from, then crammed her boots and a couple pairs of shoes in it, turning it upside down over the books within her trunk. Autumn tucked her wand in the front pocket of hear oversized, deep blue sweater which had been made for her by the grandmother of the previous foster family. She pulled the soft fluffy material over her head and struggled to get her arms through the sleeves. Despite the fact that it was summer, Autumn was always at least a little bit cold. The catch however, was that she felt that temperature year round. It was almost like she was permanently stuck in autumn, however ironic it may seem.

Standing to go, Autumn's eyes fell on Nightmare, sleeping sweetly in his little bed. In an unexpected surge of estrogen, Autumn decided to take him with her. Carefully she cradled his warm little body in her hands, removing the wand from her front pocket and sliding the kitten in it's place, relocating the wand in the belt of her jeans.

An insistent tapping on the circular little window stopped before she had descended the ladder. She crawled onto her bed and popped the window from is frame, holding it by the wooden edging around it and setting it on a nearby pile of books. Immediately after the window was gone, a black bundle of feathers darted past her, barely braking before it reached the other side of the little room. The little owl finally managed to steady itself, flapping over to her and extending its leg, waiting for her to untie the letter attached. Autumn worked the strings and free and broke the wax seal on the envelope, which was the same as the front door of the Gringotts Bank. Autumn's eyebrows rose. She had no account at Gringotts. Why would they be writing her? She unfolded the letter, scanning it quickly.

Miss Autumn Trader,

In accordance with your parent's wishes, their previous funds are now listed in your name. You are to be allotted 100 galleons every year before the start of the school year. In addition, several of their more valuable possessions are now in your custody to do with what you please.

To obtain your key please present this note to a staff member at Gringotts Bank.

The letter was not signed. First Autumn thought the letter was bogus. Then she remembered the seal. She reached into a particularly tall stack of books, grabbing her emaciated money sack and shoving it into the pocket of her baggy pants and, finally, climbed down the ladder. Mrs. Todder gave her another bottle of mix for Nightmare Justas she left.

At Gringotts, it turned out that the letter was not bogus in the least. The girl, who had lived in near poverty all her life nearly fell over when her vault was opened. One corner as filled with eggs, all in a frozen sate. Another was pile with magical doohickeys. In the center was what looked like some rich guy's life savings. A wrapped box was leaning against the wall. Curious, Autumn went in and kneeled next to the package, her fingers, made deft from handling the Monster Books, quickly removed the plain brown wrapping and opened the box.

She did fall over this time. In the box was a sleep, blue-black broomstick with elegant handwritten script on the handle. NightMyth. Lifting the broomstick reverently from the box, Autumn found it to be unbelievably lightweight. She had been allowed to handle a Firebolt when she worked at the broom shop, but it didn't even begin to compare with the workmanship of the NightMyth. The tail did not appear to be of sticks, but of a sinew-like material, like refined willow switches made to bend and taper into a fine point. The neck was long, smooth and jet-black, the fine grains leading Autumn to the conclusion that it was made of ebony. Her fingers trembling, she set the broom back in its case, lifting a small note from the bottom. She unfolded it pausing for a moment before taking the note from the envelope. She began to unfold it then stopped. 'Too much, too much. I'll save this for later.' She quickly refolded the letter stowing it back in the box. Autumn grabbed the string and retied it, tucking the box under her arm as well as snagging a few galleons before leaving.

A soft pawing at her belly caused Autumn to release Nightmare, who had woken up during the cart ride out of Gringotts. The little kitten clung to the knit of the shoulder of Autumn's sweater, staring out at Diagonalley.

Autumn quickly dropped her broom off at home, finding the little black owl to be helping himself to the large population of dust bunnies in her room. Thinking of something, Autumn grabbed a sheet of notepaper and her last quill, quickly writing a note to the Gringotts Bank, to send one of the magical items to her every month, and sending it out with the little fluff ball owl. She quickly replaced her window, helping Nightmare back onto her shoulder as he had fallen down her front with the give of the fabric.

Later it was almost 16:00 and Autumn was feeling a little pressed for time. Tomorrow she left for school and she still had to get quills, robes and regular clothes. The quills and regular clothes were easy. It was the robes she was having trouble with. Like her first year, the tape measures wouldn't work with her and the seamstress had to do it all herself, which, ordinarily, she never did and was terribly out of practice. After about six… or nine wrong measurements and incorrect robes, Autumn went with a slightly too big size. During the entire escapade, Nightmare insisted on getting himself tangled in the tape measures.

"What a sweet little kitten." Said the woman, releasing him from the tape measures. "Did you do those markings with dye or magic?"

"Neither, I found him like that." Autumn said, scooping up the little kitten.

"Well, as word of warning, blue eyed cats tend to get sick a lot." The lady said as Autumn purchased her robes.

"Thanks." She said picking up her bag and placing Nightmare on her shoulder. About halfway down the street, Autumn stopped. Blue eyes? She took Nightmare off her should. He did indeed have blue eyes, twinkling like gems as he looked at her as though she was crazy.

"I am _not_ crazy." Autumn told him, feeling kind of odd for talking to a cat, or what looked like a cat anyway. She stopped at a little café, just outside Diagonalley to have dinner. A sub (also known as a subway, grinder, torpedo, etc) and iced tea satisfied her; the meat from the sub were donated to the Feed-Nightmare fund. When she had finished hers she gathered up Nightmare, who had been playing with the salt, and gave him his dinner. She settled him in her lap and gave him his dinner, much more basic than hers but he seemed satisfied with it nonetheless.

Author's Corner

This story is based soley on the realm of Harry Potter. The various characters are only mentioned in passing etc. Autumn is in the same year as Harry Potter and company, but has very little to do with them.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Morenians**

By Onira

Chapter Two 

The Burning City

Autumn picked Nightmare up as soon as she got to the 9 ¾ platform. The last thing she needed was to loose the little guy amongst the various students and pets bound for the school of magic. As soon as she thought that, Nightmare gave her a slightly sarcastic look as though to say that he was above getting lost.

"Oh shut up. You're nothing more than a baby. Of course you'd get lost." She scorned playfully, setting him on her shoulder.

She hefted her trunk, tossing it onto the train car with considerable difficulty. Nightmare jumped in after the case, miraculously making it. 'The butter-milk mix really restored him.' Autumn thought. 'It's like he can do was a kitten twice his size could.'

Autumn picked up the kitten and put him back on her shoulder, pulling her bag down the isle as she searched for a free seat. Nightmare jumped off her shoulder and ran down the corridor, darting into a compartment a ways down.

"Hey! Get back here! You're going to scare somebody!" Autumn called after him, following the mischievous kitten into the compartment. She found Nightmare on the lap of a rather distressed looking redhead boy, his two friends looking curiously at the kitten who was sniffing at the redhead's pet rat.

Autumn recognized them. The three Griffindoors were all in her year. She knew hem by rumor only. She had heard that a lot of stuff went on with these three, but she made a point of not listening to exactly what. She avoided gossip in general, as it was frequently about her.

"Hehe, sorry. He's quite harmless really. He hasn't figured out that he's got claws and all he's got aside from them are milk teeth." Said Autumn, trying to comfort Ron who was clearly worried for his pet. Nightmare sniffed the rat's nose, promptly sneezed and jumped away, his fur standing on end. Autumn scooped him up, settling him back on her shoulder.

"Guess he doesn't like rats." Commented Harry.

"Apparently. I found him in the attic. He was probably scared by the rats that live there."  
"Why not get a charm to get rid of them?" Asked Hermione.

"The make good vacuum cleaners." Autumn said, grinning crookedly. Nightmare once again left Autumn's shoulder and took a moment tog et acquainted with the fluffy ginger cat on the window seat before trotting out and down the hallway.

"Oh, Nightmare! Get back here." Autumn said, backing out into the hallway. "It was nice to have met you all. " She waved then hurried after Nightmare.

"Get back here you dork." She called. Nightmare abruptly stopped and glared back at her, his look clearly stating his indigence at being called a dork. He then walked a few steps farther to the next compartment door and sat down in front of it, looking proud of himself.

"Yes, yes. I see you've found us a compartment. Don't get cocky." Autumn said, sliding the door open.

Within a few minutes Nightmare was curled up and quite content to have the window seat to himself. Autumn had rolled down the window and door screens and had just finished changing into her robes when the food cart came. Two silver coins bought her a lovely sum of chocolate frogs. Shutting the window and doors, she let the candied amphibians loose for Nightmare to play with. He, of course, was delighted and proceeded to chase them around the compartment, whilst Autumn went through the cards. Nothing of any particular interest captured her eye.

Instead, she focused on rescuing Nightmare from the frogs, which seemed to be using his head as a springboard of sorts. She took her hat off, a slightly overlarge brown caddie cap and snatched the frogs one by one from the floor, window and nightmare's head. She turned the cap upside down on the seat, trapping the frogs beneath and crossing her fingers momentarily that none would escape. Then she picked up Nightmare.

"Now I hope you didn't eat any of those 'cause you still have to eat your dinner." Autumn told him, fishing his mix out of her shoulder bag. Nightmare looked at her as if it would have been _her_ fault if he had eaten any since she was the one who let them loose. Nevertheless, he allowed her to feed him.

Nightmare was soon sleeping, belly round, full and very apparent with him sleeping on his back, paws curled cutely up in the air, snuggled into Autumn's lap. Autumn looked at the kitten enviously, wishing that the odd, unsettling feeling that was plaguing her would cease so she could sleep.

She was staring out the window when she heard shouting in the next compartment. It was something along the lines of "Get out before we throw you out!" and "Make me!" soon followed by a sharp crack and a thud, then a murmur that sounded something suspiciously like "good riddance." Autumn stood slowly, resettling Nightmare on the seat next to her.

She peered out the door and saw a boy with white-blonde hair, about her age. His robes weren't school-standard and Autumn couldn't be sure which house he was in. Shrugging, she hauled him into her compartment, pulling him onto the spare row of seats. If he had been stunned there wasn't much she could do except wait. They were still technically forbade from using magic, and would be until they reached Hogwarts itself, but so many students broke that rule that it was no longer truly enforced. Otherwise, a quick _enervate_ and the boy would be as good as a cup of coffee.

Nightmare, being his insufferable self, had decided that the boy should wake up now. The kitten jumped up onto the wizard's belly, walked up his chest and put his paws on the boy's chin, promptly biting the wizard boy's nose. He had to leap away rather quickly however. Either that or be catapulted across the compartment. The boy was up like a shot, sitting bolt upright and looking startled something awful. He immediately grabbed his head, laying back down slowly with a groan.

"You didn't need to do that. He would've woken up on his own." Autumn scolded, picking up the indicted feline. "That was definitely not the brightest thing you could've done." Autumn said, turning her gaze to the young wizard on her compartment seat. "You were hit with a stunning spell. Or had you seen that before you went out?" Autumn said, snatching a chocolate frog from beneath her had, which was wriggling as though it contained a vast population of Mexican jumping beans.

"Here." Autumn said, offering the candied amphibian to him. "Don't ask. Chocolate makes magical effects fade faster." She explained when he gave her a weird look.

"Uh, thanks." He said awkwardly, taking the frog and carefully sitting up.

"You're welcome." Autumn replied. "Sorry about the rude wake up by the way. He, this little guy, decided that you'd slept enough." Autumn pointed at Nightmare, who had also decided that the newcomer required a thorough inspection as well, and was climbing up onto his head.

"Yeah, it's fine. Look, thanks for your help. But I've got to go." He said, looking around nervously. He pulled Nightmare off him and left without another word.

Hmph, that was polite Nightmare said huffily. Yanking on me like that 

"Yeah, I mean I could have just left him out in the-" Autumn broke off her sentence, staring that Nightmare.

What? 

"Have I gone crazy?"

No… Nightmare was, however, looking at her as though that was _exactly_ what she was.

"Okay, so you _are_ talking to me then." She said, picking the kitten up and placing him on the seat beside her.

Yeah… Wasn't I before? 

"No, you just gave me these… looks."

So that's why you didn't say anything when I told you that that boy was hit with a sleeping spell, not a stunning one Nightmare said absently, putting his paws on the window. These windows are cold He noted.

"I wouldn't know." Autumn said. "Everything feels cold to me."

What the devil are you talking about? 

"I mean that my nervous system can only sense cold temperatures. Everything feels cold."

Ok. But seriously, come feel this Nightmare said, tapping the glass with his paw. Autumn eyed the window warily. Stop being stupid Nightmare scolded.

"I'm not being-!" Autumn's voice was lost beneath the screech of the train wheels. The two struggled to maintain their seating as the Hogwarts Express squealed to a halt. The lights went out almost instantly after the train stopped fully, plunging the compartment into half-darkness.

For the record, that wasn't my fault Nightmare said. Autumn scooped him up.

"Shh." She whispered, tucking him close to her body.

You're crushing me why? Autumn loosened her grip. Better 

"Because I feel something out there, and I'm scared." If Nightmare thought she was being a ninny, he said nothing. In fact, he didn't move at all.

"Nightmare?" Autumn whispered, now properly frightened. "Nightmare!" He wouldn't answer, all he did was leap off her lap and disappear within the nearest shadow.

"Don't-!" Motion in the corner of her eye cut off Autumn's words. Frost crystals were forming on her window. Autumn curled her arms around herself as she began to see her breath billowing before her.

Footsteps, just outside her door. Autumn saw a shadow fall over the door-window. It was then that she began to feel cold, icy rivulets seeping into her bones, for the first time in her life. The knob turned and the door slid open, a bony, rotting hand clutching the frame and pulling the connected body into the doorway.

Hissing came from the shadows where Nightmare hid, but Autumn barely heard him, as though he were on the other side of a wall. Her ears were filled with the screams of thousands, her eyes refusing to see anything other than flames, stretching out for miles. A burning city.

Autumn saw a spire of flame rise above the others. A clock tower burst aflame in a blaze of red, yellow and white, the glass of the face shattering, the fragments falling like crystalline snow into the inferno below. Thatch roofs fell apart amongst the outskirts, glowing brightly as the burning grass gained the oxygen needed to flare before dying out quickly. Many dark shapes dashed about within the flames. They were people, running about madly as they died. A face rose out of the flames. A wizard, it was someone Autumn knew, and knew well. But how? His face contorted into a wicked smile as his hand rose, then swiftly fell; the signal for his soldiers to charge, to come forth like a tidal wave and extinguish the city that had stood citadel and home for so many. Autumn could see them, amongst the city folk. The wizards, warded against the flames, walking imperiously through the streets and killing any and all who still lived. Her vision blurred and Autumn felt a cooling moisture on her cheeks, shielding her from the heat of the flames for a brief moment before evaporating in the very same heat.

Somewhere in the back of her mind Autumn felt the creature, robed in black shreds and wisps of cloth, had grabbed hold of her upper arm, pulling her up off her seat.

Her eyes fell from the city, no longer wanting to watch it. Autumn now saw a little girl's hand, trembling horribly. A ring, still molten and burning from the forge was placed on the hand. A scream followed, and then another ring, placed on the other hand, just as blazing and molten as the other. It was then that she realized that the screams were her own, as were the hands.

Autumn felt a blast of incinerating heat, magic colored black, green, blue and black blazed in her eyes. Autumn felt as though her body was aflame. Somewhere along the line she felt the wraith's touch leave her skin, it's presence fading from her mind. Then the magic faded, giving way to the black of a dreamless sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Morenians**

By Onira

Commentary by Nightmare

Chapter Three 

Welcome to Hogwarts

A sharp pain in her ear startled Autumn into wakefulness.

"Ow! Dammit Nightmare! Isn't there some _other_ way you can wake me up?" Autumn snapped, holding ear smarting ear. However, her hand quickly switched to her head. She had sat up much too quickly and her head was pounding something fierce.

And miss all the fun of it? Never Nightmare retorted and Autumn gave him a dirty look.

The compartment door slid open, revealing a shabby, middle-aged man who Autumn presumed was a teacher.

"Are you alright in here?" He asked, leaning lightly on the doorframe.

"Good question." Autumn murmured, her hand going back to her ear, which unlike her head, still stung.

No, my eardrums are broken, courtesy of a certain witch 

"Oh shut up, I didn't yell that loud." Autumn muttered.

"Pardon?" The teacher was looking at her oddly. Autumn gave herself a solid mental slap and smiled innocently at the man.

"Oh, nothing. Just talking to the cat."

"Alright, well. If you have any chocolate eat it. It helps the aftereffects to fade." The teacher took one last look around the compartment then left.

How rude. Not the least bit of concern about my poor ears 

"Shut up! Your ears are fine!" Autumn told him. "Sorry to break it to you but the world does not revolve around you."

Well it ought to 

"Very funny" Autumn grumbled, grabbing a chocolate frog.

Autumn arrived at Hogwarts and just like every year, was blown away by the castle's appearance. The mist and rain floated about the castle just so to give it an enchanted look to it, the lights from the windows casting long shadows upon the many students. The lake supported swirling clouds of fog, which frothed about lazily with no wind to direct it. Autumn was enchanted by the sight. But Nightmare was rather disgusted with the rain, opting to hide within Autumn's robes rather than peer about and risk getting wet.1

Autumn followed the other students, wondering which mode of transportation the third years were to use. It seemed that the school staff delighted in inventing new ways for each year to make the journey from the train stop to the school gates. The boat-trip across the lake had been Autumn's personal "favorite". Some idiot boy was in the same boat as her and capsized them. Despite the fact that she couldn't feel the cold, Autumn could still get sick from it. She had spent the first two weeks of school with a horrid head-cold that year because she was one of those people who believe that what didn't kill you made you stronger and refused to go see Madam Pomfrey.

Autumn was about to stand on tiptoe and look around when a massive hand landed on her shoulder. She looked up into the bushy face of Hagrid, the gamekeeper, and smiled broadly.

"Hagrid!" She cried in delight, enthusiastically hugging the great man about his waist (as that was all she could reach, even if she jumped).

"Hehe. Nice to see yeh too Autumn." He said, patting her on the back. Autumn oofed softly at the "pats", but didn't complain. She was too happy to see him. Autumn and the Hogwarts gamekeeper had become friends in her first year. She had been wandering the school grounds during a free period and was found by Fang, hanging upside down from a tree near Hagrid's hut.2

Since then, Autumn was always down near the hut, curiously inspecting whatever animals the tree had picked up overnight, as well as anything that Hagrid had on hand. Her favorite had been the dragon egg. But it disappeared and when she asked Hagrid about it he got all teary and didn't answer. After that Autumn left the subject alone, assuming that the egg had been confiscated. Hagrid always had some interesting creature for her to study.

Autumn looked up the man's vast belly at his beetle black eyes, one question very apparent in her look. It was less than an instant before she voiced said question.

"So Hagrid. You got anything good for me this year?" She asked, knowing Hagrid would know what she was talking about.

"As a matter o' fact I do. It's somethin' of a surprise though. 'Not supposed to be showin' yeh until yer lessons." Hagrid told her, leading the girl (whom was dwarfed in comparison) over to the carriages. Autumn, captivated with the secret, didn't take the time to look about, and was being nudged into a carriage before she knew it.

"Aww. Can't you show me sooner?" Autumn said sweetly, putting on her best puppy face. Hagrid looked warily left and right, then leaned in close to her. Autumn leaned in as well, eager to hear what he had to say.

"Come ter me hut t'mora mornin'. I'll show yeh then." He whispered, and Autumn nodded in reply, leaning back in sync with him. Hagrid looked "inconspicuously" about.

"Well then," he said, several octaves louder than need be. "Yeh best be gettin' off." Hagrid closed the door, turning back to the crowd of students, calling the first years towards the rivers edge.

Autumn took a detour almost immediately after exiting the Great Hall, slipping behind a column until the main body of students had passed. She hardly ever went to the sorting or the welcome dinner, having done so only in her first year. She darted to a side passage, stopping when she reached the stairways. She pulled Nightmare out of her sweater, rousing the sleeping kitten.

"Sorry to wake you. But you've got to learn how to get to the Ravenclaw house. I won't come and save you when you get lost." Autumn told the kitten, stowing him on her shoulder as the pair of them headed up the stairs. "There are a couple of passages that you can take to avoid the stairs, but I'll teach you about those later."

Why not just teach me the other ways instead? 

"Because the regular way is the safest, if not the fastest. A lot of the passageways are somewhat hazardous. Besides, you'd probably get lost."

I told you, I don't _get_ lost 

"Arrogant little brat."

Hey, I'm technically a little older than you 

"Yeah right. You're just a kitten!"

And by human standards, so are you 

"You're still not older than me." Autumn told him, pulling a dark red ribbon from her wrist, previously used as a neck-bound fashion accessory. She tied the ribbon around his neck after looping an ID tag that she had quickly bought on her way to King's Cross station. "Before you complain, this is so you aren't exterminated by Filch."

I won't get- 

"I heard you. But it makes me feel better, so hush." Autumn said, setting the kitten down. "Now. A couple words of warning from one who knows more than you, just start things off. Number one, Filch. He's just straight-up evil, and hates everything except his cat and torturing students."

If he likes cats why am I worried about him? 

"I said _his_ cat. He hates every other cat like they're out to steal his knickers. Number two is-" A high-pitched "wheee" sailed down the hallway, startling Autumn out of speech. She put her hand on her hip, resting her weight on one foot as she grinned down the hallway. "Well, well. Speak of the devil…"

"And I shall appear!" Peeves, the poltergeist did just that, a cloud of blue dust appearing along with him.

"'Lo Peeves." Autumn said amiably. "How have things been going while I was gone?"

"Downright dull! It's no fun without students to beleaguer!" Peeves said, punctuating his statement with giving a nearby painting a twirl, terrifying the ladies within.

"Sorry misses. Nothing personal." Autumn said, righting the painting.

Why are you warning me about this loudmouth? Nightmare asked, watching Peeves rotate in mid-air.

"Because he would have dragged you through water by your tail if he didn't know you were my friend."

I notice you didn't say pet. Just why is that? As Nightmare spoke, Peeves drifted down near him, putting his overlarge ear next to the feline.

"Because no pet of mine is older than me. Which you have made clear that you are." Autumn told him. Peeves lowered from the air, putting his ear near Nightmare as though trying to hear what the cat was saying. He became visually miffed when he heard nothing, indubitably feeling left out.

I'm glad you have finally consented to reason Peeves was beginning to turn pink. Autumn smiled apologetically at the rapidly reddening poltergeist.

"Sorry Peeves. Just telling him what he ought to watch out for." She explained. "Oh, and you're turning blue."

"Whoopsie! A 4th year hexed me a minute ago. It must be going into effect." Peeves said. "Must fly!" He jeered by way of salutation. And that was exactly what he did, with blue and purple sparks flying out his rear and through the nearby window. Autumn watched the violet spark shoot about outside for a moment,3 then turned to Nightmare.

"Anyway, just make sure he knows it's you. C'mon, let's go. I've got something to show you." Autumn led him through a sequence of corridors before arriving at a long, winding stairwell. The stairwell was ordinary enough, save for the fact that it went down 150 feet and had only four steps, placed quite far apart indeed. There was one initial step, then a sheer slant that extended out of sight.

And how, pray tell, does one get down this contraption? Nightmare asked, peering down the stairway. Autumn smiled wryly and picked him up, mounting the banister with practiced ease. The two whizzed down without any difficulty. Upon reaching the bottom, Autumn put Nightmare down to re-adjust her robes.

"No one ever seems to think of that. They try and charm themselves across." She giggled softly. "Their spell cuts out on the second step, which takes them back up to the first. Then they step back up to the first step, thinking to try again, which takes them to Mc. Gonnagle's office."

And how do you know that? 

"People try to follow me, and their names are on the professor's detention list."

She gives detentions for being in her office? Nightmare asked as she picked him up.

"At the middle of the night? Yup."

And how did you avoid ending up on said list? 

"Some jackass gave me phony directions in my first year. I didn't know any adequate levitation spells at the time so I just used the banister." Autumn said, heading down a pitch-black corridor. She laughed wryly.

"This part I managed to get through by chance. The second time through I had sooo much trouble. You just can't use a light spell, or touch the wall. The hall just goes straight so it's not that hard, but the second time I went through I tried to use the wall to guide me."

What's the wall do? 

"Transport's you to the middle of a field out on the grounds. When I screwed it up, it was the middle of the night and raining like nobody's business. I got sooo soaked and muddy walking back. Filch had my ass for a week cleaning whatever had been touched by a student."

Sounds like such a friendly man Nightmare commented amiably.

"Very funny. Now, stop talking and don't make a sound." Autumn said, stepping off the ledge at the end of the hallway.

After about 30 seconds of falling, gravitational anomalies and overall silence, they slowed to a gentle stop. Autumn pointed her toes, touching the floor, which was scant inches from her feet, re-acquainting herself with gravity and walking onward.

"That fall is always so boring." She commented mildly.

_Sure, _once you get over the whole _falling_ issue it's _just fine_! Nightmare said, his fur standing on end.

"Should I have warned you?"

_Yeah_! 

"Sorry. I promise that it's worth it." She said, smoothing his ruffled fur and scratching behind his ears.

Stop that! He protested, then began to purr. That's cheating 

"I know." Autumn said sweetly, putting him down. "Now come on"

She rounded a corner and entered a large room, in the center of which was a massive tree. It would have been a sycamore if it weren't burning. Each leaf was a single, brilliantly blazing flame. The trunk and branches were what seemed to be partially cooled lava, a crusty black color dominating the surface, slowly remelting and cooling in an undulating array of glowing red and obsidian. The tree itself was planted in a short, wide cylinder of what looked like purely molten lava. Autumn approached the tree and climbed up onto the rim of the cylinder.

Are you crazy? Nightmare shouted, running as close as he could without getting burnt. Autumn looked at him, slightly confused. It dawned on her within a moment.

"Oh, I can't feel any temperature aside from slightly cold." She said, climbing down and picking up the distressed feline. She tucked him inside her sweater, going back to the tree. "Don't worry. You'll be fine." She assured, climbing back up. She walked across the lava as one might walk on water. With the agility spawned only of practice, she climbed up the tree, heading for the center of the array of flaming branches.

"I really wish you could see this. It's fabulous."

I don't. Keep going Nightmare said, his words clipped and slightly high pitched.4 Autumn rolled her eyes and slid into a massive knothole in the tree's main limb. It was oddly cool and moist inside, considering the blazing exterior of the tree. Autumn slid to the bottom, which led out into a long hallway. She let Nightmare out of her sweater and his fur was once again standing on end.

"Oh calm down. It wasn't that bad!"

Yes it was 

"You were in my sweater the whole time!"

Precisely 

"Oh for goodness sake. Do you miss a single opportunity to insult me?"

Nary a one He said smugly. I enjoy it far to much to relent Autumn rolled her eyes and kept walking.

"You're not going to like this next part." She said as the sound of falling water became audible.

_Joy_ Nightmare grumbled sarcastically. Autumn had to suppress impending laughter with a hand. They reached the end of the corridor, which had gradually become more of a cave or hollowed out rock-passage. A curtain of water fell over the exit.

_No._ Not _even_ with you carrying me Nightmare said, planting his paws on the rocky stone floor.

"Oh don't be such a baby." Autumn said exasperatedly, reaching to pick him up.

**_No_** Autumn was taken aback by his tone, but relented.

"Fine. There's a second tunnel next to the one we came out. It opens out in the great hall. Wait for me there." Autumn said, pointing back down the passageway. Nightmare wasted no time in heading back, vanishing in the bluish half-light.5

Autumn went on ahead, the tunnel increasing in wetness with every step. She stepped in a rather large puddle of crystalline water. The fluid bent away from her foot, leaving her soft leather boots unharmed. Autumn retrieved a staff from behind a boulder, jabbing the end through the waterfall. It was as though the barrage of water was no more than a curtain of cloth. Autumn held it up, leaving an open passage blocked only by thick swirling mists and revealing a small stone island just beyond the waterfall's old path. Autumn returned the staff to its hiding place, the falls remaining in place.

She stepped through the doorway of sorts, the water loosing it's shape and falling once more in a single, uninterrupted sheet once she was out of reach of the water's barrage. She stepped through the mists, occasionally jumping from one rock island to another. Soon, she reached the end of the mists and looked about, the sight she saw blocking out all thought.

1 Rest assured I would take plenty of time to look at it when the weather was dry. But seeing as that was hardly the case, I opted for the lesser of the two evils and stayed within the girl's robes.

2How she got there, is a rather amusing story. A particularly active tree (not a Whomping Willow but something similar) had been placed in Hagrid's pumpkin patch to defend it from crows, ravens and the larger herbivores from the Forbidden Forest. But it was quite effective against students as well. Autumn had taken leave of her common sense and was wandering in the big man's pumpkin patch, investigating what had looked like an absurdly large garden slug with odd spines along its back. The tree most likely decided that she was a greater threat than the slug, and snatched her up. Quite right when you think about it. She would be able to do more damage, and faster than the gooey slug-thing could ever hope to.

3 It was soon extinguished by the rain, so she was only watching for a few seconds or so. Thank goodness too. I do hate it when people get sidetracked for too long. Up to five seconds is alright, but any longer than that and I am hopelessly tempted to walk off just to see their reaction.

4 Not exactly my finest hour. But how would you fare with nothing more than a sweater between you and a blazing inferno of a tree? I thought so.

5 Now, don't get the wrong idea folks. I am, most certainly, _not_ afraid of water. But if I explain that it will give away part of the story and heavens forbid that I should do that.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Morenians**

By Onira

**Chapter Four**

Hidden Heaven

_Flashback_

_She clung onto the last rock island, drenched after falling in the water surrounding said islands. Autumn peered through the mists, trying to see beyond them. By now she was irrevocably late for class and there was pretty much no point in trying to turn back. She caught a glimpse of what looked like another rock just two meters away. Autumn let go of the rock island and swam over to the next, her robes threatening to drag her down. Panting, she climbed onto the rock, standing up straight in her sodden robes as she tried to see above the mists, which seemed to be thinning out._

_Yes, just a meter away was another rock. She leapt for it, making the jump with little difficulty. One rock lead to another and soon she was easily leaping from stone to stone, beginning to enjoy her little water-based adventure. She hardly noticed when the mists faded completely, her eyes were so fixated on the boulders beneath her, which were growing increasingly smaller as she leapt from perch to perch. Finally, when she could no longer guarantee proper balance, she stopped and looked around._

_The girl promptly fell off of the rock she had been standing on, landing in the knee-deep water with a momentous splash. Shaking her head, Autumn stood up, heedless of the water about her legs, any thought of which was driven out of her mind by the sheer volume of visual input her mind was receiving._

_An impossibly large of land spread out before her, perceptibly divided into four sections. One was white as Christmas, the rain that Autumn had encountered outside mimicked in its colder version, the snow drifting down serenely. Small mountains littered the back of the wintry section, a thick forest of pine unerringly gathering the flakes of snow that fell from the blanket of stratus clouds above._

_To the lower right of that was a square of land that held the light, yellow green hues of spring. A soft sprinkling of rain misted across the entire area. The stratus clouds from the winter-ground extended into springtime, but shed rain as soon as they crossed the borderline. Flowers covered every patch of ground that was not occupied by tender grass or trees, covering the soft rolling hills in soft pastels. An oak and maple grove followed the border between it and the winter-lands, the trees sporting juvenile leaves and buds to attest the season._

_To the low left of the spring grounds was a land of rich, deep green hues. Summer was apparent all across its surface. Trees hosted a rich shock of leaves, all the deepest green that they could ever get. The clouds billowed up and out into huge cumulus mounds that dumped rain by the truckload. The summer rainstorm muted the colors, giving the summer ground a subdued appearance. The topography was smooth and unmarred by anything other than a thick, winding river that traversed the land and entering the lands just above, and a cliff-face that bordered both the outer rim, and approximately half of the border between it and the spring lands._

_Said lands were that which possessed the most color of them all. The trees were decked in their finest of red, orange and yellow. Mounds of leaves, all tinted to perfection, lay at the bases of the forest that surrounded a small lake. Mountains littered the outer and northern boundary, not quite so tall as the winter ones, and nowhere near as steep. The rain that seemed to occupy the land's entirety, was also present here. Stratus clouds covered the sky in a tick blanket, the rain muting the colors below._

_Autumn stood stock still, hardly daring to breath. What was this wonderland she had discovered? How did it fit within Hogwarts castle? Did anyone else know of this place? These and many more questions spun through the young witch's head as she walked out of the river onto the summer grounds. Looking down the river's course, she saw it careen off the cliff's edge and out of sight._

"_How the devil do I get down from here?" _

_End Flashback_

Since that time in her first year, Autumn had found a path down the cliff, and soon after put up a rope that she could use to both descend and scale the cliff quickly. Doing so, Autumn walked alongside the Cliffside until she reached the small lean-to she had constructed in her first year. It had taken her the better part of the year to simply map out the place. But after managing that feat, Autumn had gathered deadfall from the various forests and built the small structure just on the cliff side at border between spring and summer.

In the lean-to, Autumn kept a map of both the Realm, as she called it, and all the secret passageways she had found over her time spent at Hogwarts.1 It was considerably detailed given to her mid-night wanderings. A good deal of them were found while scrambling for a Filch-proof hiding place. The rest were bribed out of Peeves. All her other attempts had become too messy. She also stored various items that she might need between classes. She had also managed to bribe a few handy spells from Peeves. One of which, she used quite frequently, as it allowed her to "apparate" from one frequently visited place to another. (That one had cost her quite a bit) The rest were relatively trivial, quite good for laughs. She even had a spell to make illusory swampy-looking goo appear.2

Autumn turned to her map, newly made at the end of the year before after a mal-timed trip to the little girl's room had led her to discover a web of plumbing passageways. The tag she had tied about Nightmare's neck also included a tagging spell. She had bought it at a relatively cheap price. Allegedly, it would make your pet's location appear on any map. But, needless to say, Autumn had her doubts about store-bought magic. It was almost never as good as what you could do yourself (if you had the knack for it).

"Linketo Attage." She said, tapping her wand to the map. A miniature set of paw-prints appeared on the map. If she judged it correctly, it was the hanging-place of a rather poor singer's painting.3 She passed by it on her way to Charms. Autumn smirked, the two were probably arguing. But then, she had no idea if anyone else could hear Nightmare speak.

Another tap brought a blue overlay onto the map. This was the secret passageways and closets.4 There was a nearby broom closet that she had used a lot last year. In her previous year, Autumn had huddled there for long hours at night, listening to soft voices within the pipes just beyond the wall. There was one broom-storage that looked convenient, just down the hall from the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Relecanto." Autumn muttered the spell, picturing the closet in her mind's eye. She could feel her body twisting into a spiral-esque shape, curling around itself until it vanished. Unfortunately, Peeves' spells were particularly showy on the starting end (all the better to freak people out). However, Autumn had managed to get rid of the awful whizzing sound that normally accompanied the spell.5

She appeared in the broom closet, letting her eyes adjust to the dark before stepping out. Silently as she could, Autumn approached the Fat Lady's portrait. The generously proportioned woman was shouting for someone to "get rid of the beastly cat that was keeping her awake with its staring." Autumn shook her head and quietly approached the two of them, Nightmare coming into focus from the shadows on the floor.

You can stop your creeping, I know you're there Nightmare told the young witch, turning his sharp blue eyes, which held the slight spark of mirth that all cats had.6 The Fat Lady spotted Autumn and sighed in relief.

"Oh, thank goodness. I thought someone would never come!" She said with dramatic flourish.

And I thought she would never shut up. Can't she hear me? Nightmare said, giving the portrait a rather miffed look. Autumn suppressed a chuckle and picked him up before turning to the Fat Lady.

"Sorry Ma'am. We'll be off now." Autumn said, ignoring Nightmare's comment that he wasn't in the least bit sorry.

Autumn carried him through the darkened halls to the Ravenclaw House, taking no shortcuts. She wanted him to learn the proper way to get there. In the East Tower they came across a pale gray marble statue of a young dragon. It stood in a niche just off the hallway, the dragon halfway through hatching from its egg.

"Anubis." Autumn said and the hatchling dragon lifted its head, lightly mouthing her arm in affection before pulling aside a large piece of broken eggshell to reveal a doorway. Before going in, Autumn lifted Nightmare up to show the little dragon, telling him to stop squirming and let the dragon smell him. The dragonlet, which Autumn had named Anubis, sniffed gingerly at the little cat for a moment then gave a nod before curling back up on it's shell. Autumn restored Nightmare to his place on her shoulder and went through the newly revealed doorway, hearing the little dragon shut it behind her.

"Remember how I told you I got lost a lot during my first year? Well, I got lost on the first night and didn't get the password. I slept out there with that little dragon because I couldn't get in and didn't want to ask anyone since I might get in trouble." As she spoke, Autumn carried Nightmare up the stairs and to the girls' dormitory.

"I woke up pretty much on his belly. Since then he's always let me in." She said with a shrug, looking around her dorm to ensure that all the other girls were asleep. Autumn was lucky and all her dorm-mates were heavy sleepers. They didn't even wake up when she had the occasional night terror. Autumn went to her bags, pulling out her extra pillows, including a black velvet one she had bought specifically for Nightmare.

She looked up to her bed to find that Nightmare had settled on her Hogwarts-provided pillow.

"Don't plan on sleeping there." She told him, shoving her bags off to the side until she could get around to unpacking them. She tossed her Cheshire Cat pillow up onto the dark blue Hogwarts pillow, Nightmare dodging out of its way. "That's MY pillow. This one's yours." She said, holding up the remaining one. "Where do you want it?"

Next to yours is fine 

"Okay, but if I wake up with fur in my face you're going to the end of the bed." Autumn told him and set his pillow next to hers at the head of the bed, leaning slightly against the headboard.

Autumn changed into a pair of loose black pants and a black wife-beater7 while Nightmare got settled on his pillow, walking around in several circles before lying down. Autumn watched the last few rotations before crawling into bed as well.

"Why do you do that? Walk around in circles like that?" She asked, adjusting the crisp new covers.

To separate clumps in the pillow material. Why do you ask? Nightmare replied, forming his own question as he tucked his paws under his chest.

"No reason, just curious." Autumn told him, snuggling into her covers to await the Sandman.

But sleep would not come. Her thoughts were running like mad. So much had happened. There was so much to do! What about the broom? When would she try it out? Tomorrow maybe, no one would be up early so soon in the year. And the letter attached? Later. That was still too fresh. As for Hagrid's surprise? Tomorrow, she would have time.

Autumn finally settled, her slight anxiety set at ease for the time being. She pulled the drapes shut and took a moment to adjust the covers before drifting off to sleep.

_She was dreaming. The fact that she knew as much making it all the stranger. Autumn was standing atop a massive tree, obviously of magical origin. Its leaves were formed of feathers of every imaginable color. The branches were unnaturally smooth and bark-less, as though they had been sanded._

_Autumn felt something pulling at her, calling her down out of the tree. Just as any other dream, Autumn had no real idea why she felt compelled to climb down, but also felt no reason not to. After all, it was a dream, nothing could hurt her here._

_She descended, paying little attention to whether or not there was a branch beneath her foot before putting her weight on said limb. However, she did not fall. Autumn's descent was smooth and uninterrupted, ending when her toes touched the grass below. The feeling still tugged at her, calling her to cross the field that the tree stood in. Autumn looked out across the plane, admiring the deep green color of the grass. After a moment, something occurred to her. The grass was rather strange looking. Running out into it, Autumn went down onto her knees, putting a hand down into cool the emerald blades._

_They were made of fire. With a smile of delight, Autumn picked a blade of grass and held it to her eyes. For a moment, the flame remained, and then slowly spun out, a coil of smoke drifting up from her hand. With a giggle, Autumn flung herself down into the grass, rolling about like a child. After a moment, the feeling pulled at her again, prompting her to sigh and reluctantly stand. Following the call across the field, Autumn began to run, the lengthening blades of grass rising to tickle her thighs as she dashed through the plane._

_Trees began to surround her, despite the fact that Autumn had never been conscious of the fact that she was approaching a forest. But the, that was the way of dreams. After a time, Autumn came to a clearing. It was then that the pulling sensation chose to cease._

1 Thus far she had made around 6 or so versions. They had all proved too messy until she unearthed a spell to create "layers" on the parchment.

2 This proved most excellently used on door handles of places that she didn't want folks to enter. It usually worked until Filch arrived to clean it up, at which point she got to watch and snigger as he tried to clean off the thick, gooey, foul-smelling substance.

3 Rather chubby if I do say so myself.

4 Other layers included; alternate floors, Filch's regular patrol routes, and those of the prefects. She even had a special one that tracked the movements of the main stairways.

5 This had involved something of a risk, mind you. The only way to alter a spell that is purely incantation and thought is to meddle with it. Should ingredients be involved, say in a potion, all one has to do is fiddle with the finer points of it, which can usually be predicted, unlike messing around with the syllables of an incantation. Autumn had spent a few days sick with some strange ailment on her second experimentation. The first had caused relatively disturbing memories to pop into her head, none of which were hers. After some research, she managed to get the desired result on her third try.

6 Of course we do. You would as well if you were constantly surrounded by creatures of lesser grace than you. Positively hilarious I tell you.

7 Also known as her pajamas.


End file.
